And recently, this philosophy was on full display as Bezos gave an update to his space company, Blue Origin. Reported in The Washington Post, Bezos in an hour-long speech in Washington's convention center unveiled a life-size mock-up of Blue Origin's new lunar lander which will be able to ferry cargo and supplies to the surface of the moon in advance of a human landing.

No human has touched the surface of the moon since 1972. Combining that fact and the White House increasingly urging NASA to meet a mandate, having Bezos step in to aid the mission of space colonization by 2024 was well timed.

However, looking beyond the surface level of this speech and initiative, Bezos reminded entrepreneurs of one critical lesson that is necessary for long-term success.

Get crystal clear on what you want and then figure it out later.

One of the tough aspects of creating a new business, writing a book, launching a new initiative, or any other sort of grand endeavor is getting past the initial doubts and worry.

I remember when I decided to leave school and ultimately work for myself, I found myself being frozen by the unknown. Just as my mentor reminded me along with the way Bezos is going about Blue Origin, you can't initially worry about the "how."

In the beginning, clarity on what you want and then taking one small step forward is all that's needed. Think progress, not perfection.

While Blue Origin has the lunar lander prototype ready, details about the cost, when it first will begin to fly, and other details such as how many people will able to go are still unclear.

However, what isn't unclear is Bezos's endgame and vision:

"Millions of people are living and working in space. The Earth's resources are limited, while the population and its appetite for energy, continue to grow. The answer is to go out into the cosmos and exploit the limitless resources there."

If you're in a situation where you want to get something off the ground, begin with the end in mind, attach a deadline, and then take a small action toward that goal in the next 24 hours.

If you need an idea for an action to take in the next 24 hours, craft up your endgame and vision as Bezos has done.

The best time to start was yesterday. If you didn't start yesterday, the best time to start is now. As we see with Bezos showing up to potentially partner with NASA, it's imperative to get ready now because you never know when the opportunity to help catapult your vision will arrive.

Published on: May 14, 2019

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.